Once upon of time the Intuos line of drawing tablets from Wacom were designed for creative professionals but with the Intuos 4 line, I would go out on a limb and say it’s inclusive of everyone’s needs. Traditional artists who complained of pressure sensitivity (or lack there-of) will be happy to know it’s twice as sensitive so all the nuances from hand to paper (figuratively) are far more accurate and in real time.

In my never ending quest for the perfect laptop bag, I stumbled across a French Canadian company called Matt & Nat who have an entire line of soft goods but it was their Archive bag that caught my eye. It’s all vegan leather which is an oxymoron so just think of it as faux leather – really good faux leather. Hit the jump for me review.

If you’ve ever perused the toy aisle of a pet store, the options are overwhelming. “One for every occasion” is an understatement. It occurred to me most toys were geared towards puppies and young adults. The seniors, much like their human counterparts, totally get shafted. I have a 9 y.o. dog which by canine standards is more than mature. My search led me to a series of dog toys called Old Soul by a cool little company called Planet Dog.

We don’t often review mice here on YD unless it’s something really unique and or special. When Cyber Sport approached us about reviewing the Orbita, a hockey puck shaped mouse, we thought “hey why not!” My last experience with a puck mouse left a bad taste in my mouth (ahem: iMac) so I was prepared to be let down, or was I? Hit the jump!

One of the toughest parts about being a designer is balancing the need to satisfy our creativity with that of the market – ultimately what the consumer wants, the consumer gets right? – Even at the detriment of design and in some cases rationale. Our very own Brian Ling recently dished on the realities of working in design but the end goal is to always satisfy the client and make money off your product.

You can call it a desktop organizer but it doesn’t hold paperclips, pens, and pencils. It’s all the other stuff we ignore – the cables and wires that make our laptops look like they’re hooked up to Skynet. The Bluelounge SpaceStation is a $79 peripheral that’ll clean up clutter and elevate your laptop while saving a few of those USB ports because it’s hiding a few of its own. Hit the jump for my review.

Take a look under your desk, behind the entertainment center and by your computer. Chances are you have a rat’s nest. The deliberate twisty-ties on carefully laid out cables when you first set them up have become a tangled mess. How does that happen?!?!

A long while back we were enamored with a seemingly simple bi-level desk from a company called Heckler Design. After a couple emails and a lot of patience (thank you Dean), we finally have our review of the OneLessDesk. At first glance, you’d be hard pressed to understand why something this simple could command a $649 price tag. But as with most minimalist designs, it takes some creative engineering and expensive manufacturing to pull off the perfect balance between aesthetic/function. Hit the jump for my review.

Pet owners know nothing is too good for their poochie or kitty. They readily spend $100 on their beloved companions without batting an eyelash. Hey if you got the money, who better to spoil than your pets? In my quest to find something not only fun but mentally stimulating for my dog Miko, I came across a line of pet toys from a Swedish company called Nina Ottosson. They were kind enough to send my dog a few items from their new lineup. Hit the jump for my Miko’s review.

Touchscreen interfaces; the delicate balance between technology and cost are slowly falling in unison and HP aims to be in the vanguard. The Touchsmart PCs have always tried to epitomize that future but the 1st gen machines weren’t exactly winners. We took the 2nd gen machines for a test drive and spoke to Randall Martin – HP’s Worldwide Director of Design for Commercial and Consumer Desktop PCs about the present and future of the Touchsmart PC line.

The original DUET was a hit with many enthusiasts looking for a complimentary computer speaker system without breaking the bank. JBL went at it again with the new DUET II. New look, new specs and still affordable, but how does it perform? Hit the jump for my review.

It’s an email device. That’s it. That’s all it does and like the tagline “simply connected,” it don’t get much simpler than this. Meet Peek. I’ve spent the past month using it as my exclusive go-to email device. Tho I have an iPhone, did the Peek meet my standards? Hit the jump to read my review

I received so many books over the past holiday season I felt like I was back in school trying to get thru them all. One book in particular by designer and founder of Reberstein Design, Frederick Reber called Chair Wandering is a beautiful exercise in creativity and imagination. If you’ve got $25 laying out, don’t spend it on a night out on junk food and cheap booze, pick up this book.